ReadWrite - uncarrierhttp://readwrite.com/tag/uncarrier
enCopyright 2015 Wearable World Inc.http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssTue, 31 Mar 2015 15:04:34 -0700T-Mobile's Big Idea: Force Other Carriers Down The Rabbit Hole<!-- tml-version="2" --><p>At first, T-Mobile's "UnCarrier" initiative was designed to inject some attitude into the company's stodgy public image. But as the company continues to roll out new initiatives, it's forcing Verizon, AT&amp;T and Sprint to compromise their own strategies in order to play catch-up. Which is terrific for consumers no matter how you look at it.</p><p>Operation UnCarrier entered its fourth phase on Wednesday as T-Mobile&nbsp;<a href="http://multimediacapsule.thomsonone.com/t-mobileusa/t-mobile-uncarrier-4">announced it will pay</a>&nbsp;individuals and families who are willing to dump AT&amp;T, Verizon, or Sprint for its service. T-Mobile will pay up to $300 for their old devices, and&nbsp;the company will also pay off customers’ final bills and early termination fees from their previous carriers, up to $350 per line, in the form of a prepaid MasterCard.</p><p>“We’re giving families a ‘Get Out of Jail Free Card',” John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile, said in a <a href="http://multimediacapsule.thomsonone.com/t-mobileusa/t-mobile-uncarrier-4">press release</a>. “Carriers have counted on staggered contract end dates and hefty early termination fees to keep people bound to them forever. But now families can switch to T-Mobile without paying a single red cent to leave them behind.”</p><h2>Trendsetting As A Defensive Strategy</h2><p>Legere’s boldness has driven a massive reversal in T-Mobile’s fortunes over the last 16 months.&nbsp;Since Legere assumed the magenta throne in September 2012, T-Mobile has become the upstart of the U.S. telecommunications scene, killing off the traditional two-year wireless contract last March (<a href="http://newsroom.t-mobile.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=251624&amp;p=irol-newsarticle&amp;ID=1802239">UnCarrier 1.0</a>), introducing the ability to upgrade devices twice a year last July (<a href="http://readwrite.com/2013/07/10/t-mobile-jump">UnCarrier 2.0</a>), and finally killing off roaming fees in October (<a href="http://multimediacapsule.thomsonone.com/t-mobileusa/t-mobile's-un-carrier-3-event">UnCarrier 3.0</a>).&nbsp;</p><p>The plan seems to be paying off for Big Pink. Citing a study by Baird Equity, Legere said <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2421611,00.asp">more potential switchers are considering T-Mobile</a> than any other wireless company, and the company claimed more than 1.6 million new customers this past quarter. In the same quarter last year, T-Mobile <em>lost</em> 32,000 customers.&nbsp;Not a bad turnaround for a company that was&nbsp;<a href="http://readwrite.com/2011/12/19/att_plans_fall_apart_throws_in_the_towel_on_t-mobi">almost acquired by AT&amp;T</a>&nbsp;in late 2011.</p><p></p><div tml-image="ci01b280a700008266" tml-render-position="right" tml-render-size="medium"><figure><img src="http://a1.files.readwrite.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,q_80,w_620/MTIyMzAxNTkzMjk4MTc0NTY2.jpg" /></figure></div><p>Consumers are <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-08/t-mobile-ceo-to-follow-up-party-crashing-with-market-share-gains.html">clearly paying attention</a> to T-Mobile’s consumer-friendly improvements. But so are the other carriers.</p><p>After T-Mobile introduced its twice-a-year upgrade plan last July, AT&amp;T and Verizon only needed a month to introduce and institute their own efforts—Next and Edge, respectively. Then, when rumors of T-Mobile’s plan to pay customers’ early termination fees <a href="http://www.tmonews.com/2013/12/what-if-uncarrier-4-0-is-other-carriers-early-termination-fees-covered/">surfaced over the holidays</a>, AT&amp;T on January 3 <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2014/01/03/technology/mobile/att-tmobile/">said it will offer</a> any new customers who switch <em>from</em> T-Mobile a $200 credit per phone line and the chance to trade in their smartphones for up to $250.</p><p>The offers from AT&amp;T and Verizon aren’t quite as good as T-Mobile’s, but they're better than nothing. And that’s exactly what T-Mobile wanted all along: To force the hands of the other carriers, despite technically being less popular than the other three major carriers when it comes to smartphone sales.</p><p>As T-Mobile continues to evolve its own business strategy—and <a href="http://investor.t-mobile.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=177745&amp;p=irol-newsArticle&amp;ID=1887921">improve its wireless spectrum</a>—customers across all carriers will enjoy the effects of increased competition in the telecommunications space. But T-Mobile’s latest chapter in its UnCarrier initiative may be its most fruitful yet.&nbsp;According to <a href="http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/reports/2013/mobile-consumer-report-february-2013.html">Nielsen Mobile Insights</a>, up to 40 percent of families hold back from switching carriers because of high early termination fees. An <a href="http://gigaom.com/2013/12/20/poll-if-t-mobile-pays-for-you-to-switch-carriers-will-you/">online poll from GigaOM</a> showed how 78% of respondents would switch to T-Mobile if their early termination fee was paid off.</p><p>“We are either going to take over this whole industry, or these bastards will change and we’ll still be wildly successful,” Legere said (<a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/8/5289124/t-mobile-q4-2013-best-quarter-in-8-years">via The Verge</a>). “I’m going to love watching the peckers scream.”</p><p><em>Images courtesy of T-Mobile</em></p>As T-Mobile continues to evolve its "UnCarrier" initiative, it's forcing its bigger rivals to, y'know, compete. Which is good for you.http://readwrite.com/2014/01/09/tmobile-termination-fees-uncarrier
http://readwrite.com/2014/01/09/tmobile-termination-fees-uncarrierMobileThu, 09 Jan 2014 10:41:00 -0800Dave Smith